‘Seasons Of War: The Horde Of Travesties’

❉ A History Of The Time War raising money to help a children’s charity.

“A History Of The Time War, written by a mysterious historian, tells us in great detail the events of the War, from its first moments until its final Moment. Annotated, featuring stories, poetry from the front, accounts of Gallifreyans, soldiers, leaders . . . the true fate of President Romana, the search for The Master, all the battles and events, the moments where history itself was rewritten, the alliances forged and the times where the Time Lords themselves committed atrocities of such magnitude, the universe turned against them.”

Last year We Are Cult told you about ‘Seasons Of War – Tales From A Time War’, edited by Declan May, initially released as an e-book on 30 January 2015, and then as a paperback. All the money raised went to Caudwell Children.

Irish novelist, scriptwriter and playwright Declan May teamed up with the multi-talented Barnaby Eaton-Jones, proprietor of indie publisher Chinbeard Books, and quickly got to work seeking out writers to flesh out the morally challenged and ambiguous ‘War Doctor’s centuries-long struggle and uncover his dark secrets, with the aim of putting together a non-profit anthology for a worthy cause, in this case Cauldwell Children.

May gathered together a host of talents to reveal some hidden chapters from the War Doctor’s secret history for the anthology, Seasons Of War. Alongside fandom familiars such as Howe, Starburst editor J.R. Southall, and Nicholas Briggs, there were established figures from Doctor Who’s literary legacy such as Kate Orman, Jim Mortimore, Lance Parkin, John Peel, Paul Magrs, Gary Russell, Andrew Smith, who first wrote for Doctor Who as a teenager (Full Circle, 1980, BBC), as well as more recent additions to the fold, such as cultural historian Matthew Sweet, and novelist Jenny T. Colgan.

Why Cauldwell Children? Caudwell Children provide family support services, equipment, treatment and therapies for disabled children and their families across the UK. They also run the Enable Sport programme for talented disabled athletes and our Destination Dreams holiday for children fighting life threatening conditions. Caudwell Children are motivated to improve the lives of the estimated 770,000 disabled children living in the UK, starting with the 400,000 living in or on the margins of poverty.

Seasons Of War’s original incarnation was introduced with a well-made promotional video produced by Andy Robinson, and stunning artwork by Paul Hanley and Simon Brett.

The original paperback of Seasons of War raised £8000 for Caudwell Children, and the absolutlely final edition, a limited edition paperback in July 2016, published by Chinbeard Books, raised that funding further.

Like the War Doctor, May said “No more”, but due to the ongoing interest in the adventures of John Hurt’s War Doctor, not to mention continuing to pursue to raise funds for Caldwell’s Children, May has launched a new fund-raising creative exercise continuing the adventures of the Time War and the Doctor’s “lost” incarnation.

Note artwork above is not the finished cover.

Declan May picks up the story:

“The anthology, Seasons Of War, ended on something of a cliffhanger. Something we intended to address in the subsequent anthology volumes. However, due to many circumstances, there were no further anthology volumes, and those of you who had been following our progress saw that any plans for sequels were shelved, due mainly to the fact that we believed SEASONS OF WAR to be a true one-off.

“However, due to popular demand, and a desire to raise even more much needed funds for Caudwell Children, there will therefore be a novel, bridging the gap between SEASONS OF WAR and the events portrayed in ‘Day Of The Doctor’, as well as (in the same volume) an annotated ‘in universe’ ‘History Of The Time War’.

“The Horde Of Travesties: the War Doctor’s final, horrific battle before The Moment features the return of old enemies, a Gallifrey under attack on two fronts, and both the past and future in play. With everything resting on the increasingly desperate and angry man who used to be called The Doctor.

“A History Of The Time War, written by a mysterious historian, tells us in great detail the events of the War, from its first moments until its final Moment. Annotated, featuring stories, poetry from the front, accounts of Gallifreyans, soldiers, leaders . . . the true fate of President Romana, the search for The Master, all the battles and events, the moments where history itself was rewritten, the alliances forged and the times where the Time Lords themselves committed atrocities of such magnitude, the universe turned against them.”

Order Details

‘Seasons Of War: The Horde Of Travesties’ will be released in December 2017 both as an ebook and 440 page paperback (with a very limited edition hardback version) but pre-orders are open now, for a limited period. So if you want to secure your copy (or copies) you have the next four weeks to do so. With some of the proceeds going to Caudwell Children (with publishing, printing and distribution taken into consideration) * Important note: once you have pre-ordered your copy, please email me your ref #, address and telephone # to declan.may@declanmay.com

❉ Should you wish to make a higher donation (with or without book) to support a further three Seasons Of War novels (TBA shortly) and the Charity Caudwell Children, get in touch with Declan at declan.may@declanmay.com